Playwright Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties) hadn’t given the world a new play for nine years. In 2015, he unveiled The Hard Problem, which had its world premiere in London. Critics were divided and now local audiences can get a chance to hear the play when L.A. Theatre Works presents four radio-play performances starting on Friday at the James Bridges Theatre at UCLA.
The Hard Problem finds Hillary, a researcher at the Krohl Institute for Brian Science, torn between her passion for the science of the brain and the intentions of the organizations primary donor. Is he truly philanthropic or is he using the Institute to gain an advantage over his competitors? Are people genuinely good?
When performed in England, The Hard Problem ran 100 minutes without an intermission. Stoppard reworked the play before its opening in 2018 in New York. The work still divided critics.
Hannah Murray leads the company as Hillary. Eddie Cahill, Rosie Fellner, Desirée Moe Jung, Adhir Kalyan, Julian Morris and Moira Quirk round out the company. Rosalind Ayres directs.
So does The Hard Problem work or not? You’ll have four chances to find out. But it is Stoppard. Even the less-successful of his plays gives you plenty to think about.
For tickets go here.
Photo of Tom Stoppard by Martha Swope/Courtesy of the New York Public Library Archives.